IRAQ
US Colonel: Iran Assassinating Iraqi Officials - Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post
Baghdad: Do You Really Live Here? - Anna Badkhen, Christian Science Monitor
Caught Between Forces Vying for Iraq's Soul - Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post
Baghdad Fighting Kills 6 - Reuters
Cease-fire Holds in Sadr City After Deadly Clashes - Reuters
Officers Battle Visa Hurdles for Iraq Aides - Conrad Mulcahy, New York Times
What Would Really Rebuild Iraq - Rodgers and Alamiri, CSM opinion
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report
AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS
Afghan Mission Now Top Aussie Priority - Patrick Walters, The Australian
Thousands Displaced by Fighting in Afghan South - Reuters
Afghans to Ask for $50 bln Aid at Paris Conference - Reuters
Deal on Role for Islamic Law in NW Pakistan Area - Associated Press
Following the Marines Through Helmand - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal
Following the Marines Through Helmand II - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal
The US Dep. of Agriculture Does COIN - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal
Canada's Not On Time Logistics - Kip, Abu Muqawama
IRAN
Saudis Send Sharp Warning to Iran Over Lebanon - Associated Press
Iranian Leader Ahmadinejad in Rudd's Sights - Dennis Shanahan, The Australian
Noble Action Likely to Fail - Greg Sheridan, The Australian opinion
Ahmadinejad to Offer Proposals to Ease Nuclear Row - Reuters
The New Cold War - Thomas Friedman, New York Times opinion
A Plan for Iran - Harlan Ullman, Washington Times opinion
CHINA
Challenges of War and Peace - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
Chinese Reactions to New Maritime Strategy - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
THE LONG WAR
Al Qaeda Reward Slashed by US - Associated Press
Case Against 9/11 Detainee Is Dismissed - William Glaberson, New York Times
The Government’s Jihad on Jihad - Andrew McCarthy, National Review opinion
Iran, Al Qaeda and Liberal Denial - Daniel Mandel, New York Post opinion
Assessing the Muslim Brotherhood "Firewall" - Marc Lynch, Abu Aardvark
Civilians Missing From Action - Spencer Ackerman, Washington Independent
US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Gates Urges Military to Focus on Current Wars - Josh White, Washington Post
Gates Says New Arms Must Play Role Now - Thom Shanker, New York Times
Gates Urges Focus on Needs in Iraq, Afghanistan - Julian Barnes, Los Angeles Times
Gates on Low-Intensity Warfare - Max Boot, Contentions
Gates’ Speech at Colorado Springs - David Betz, Kings of War
That's Why Abu Muqawama Loves You, Bobby - Abu Muqawama
“Burying the Ghosts of Vietnam” - Bob Cassidy, Small Wars Journal
Which “Ghosts” Should We Be Trying to Bury - Gian Gentile, Small Wars Journal
The Ghosts of Vietnam - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club
Vietnam Ghosts - Phillip Carter, Intel Dump
Contracting out Foreign Military Training - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner
Understanding Smith-Mundt's Barriers - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner
Sent to War by a Letter - Phillip Carter, Intel Dump
AFRICA
Sudan: 200 Died in Darfur Rebel Raid Near Khartoum - Associated Press
UN Security Council Condemns Rebel Attack in Sudan - Associated Press
Darfur Crisis Threatens Chad - Washington Times editorial
Somali Sides Urged to Find Peace - BBC News
Arrests Follow Malawi 'Coup Plot' - BBC News
British Ambassador Seized in Zimbabwe - Jan Raath, London Times
Defending Thabo Mbeki - Philip Christenson, Los Angeles Times opinion
AMERICAS
Colombia Sends 13 Paramilitary Leaders to US - Juan Forero, Washington Post
Colombia Extradites 14 Paramilitary Leaders - Simon Romero, New York Times
Colombian Warlords Extradited to US - Associated Press
Colombian Ex-warlords Sent to US - BBC News
Mexican Troops Fight Sinaloa Drug Cartel - Reuters
Haitian Protesters Trade Food Riots for Jobs - Reuters
ASIA PACIFIC
China: 19,000 Buried, 13,000 Dead - Macartney and Naughton, London Times
Toll Rises; China Struggles to Reach Victims - Wong and Hooker, New York Times
Amid the Tragedy Lies Opportunity - Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times
Suddenly, 'the Whole Thing Fell Down' - Cody and Drew, Washington Post
Rescuers Reach Chinese Epicentre - BBC News
China: Why Did the Schools Collapse? - Peter Smith, Christian Science Monitor
China Quake 'Worse Than Expected' - BBC News
Burma Still Blocking Large-Scale Relief - New York Times
Foul Weather Adds to Burma Misery - Washington Post
Junta Wishes To Hear No Evil, Report Says - Colum Lynch, Washington Post
UN Calls for Burma Aid Corridor - BBC News
Damage to Burma Port Keeps Ships at Sea - Kenneth Denby, London Times
Saved by China - Washington Post editorial
Shame on the Junta - New York Times editorial
Burma's Disgrace - James Lyons, Washington Times opinion
Kosovo Aid the Model - Andrew O'Neil, The Australian opinion
US Increases Estimate Of N. Korean Plutonium - Glenn Kessler, Washington Post
North Korea Documents Make Debut - Helene Cooper, New York Times
US Welcomes N. Korea Nuclear Files - BBC News
UN Delays on Timor Extension Request - Paul Toohey, The Australian
Horta Wants UN to Stay in E. Timor - Lucy Williamson, BBC News
Malaysia's Democratic Movement - Stuart Eizenstat, Washington Times opinion
EUROPE
Russia Factory Visit Tied to Ouster of Attachés - C.J. Chivers, New York Times
Bush Sends Russia Nuclear Pact to Skeptical Congress - Reuters
Turkish Islamic Preacher - Threat or Benefactor? - Reuters
MIDDLE EAST
Leb. Army Ups Beirut Presence - Sana Abdallah, Washington Times
Lebanon Army 'Ready to Use Force' - BBC News
Why Hezbollah Should be Condemned - Dean Godson, London Times opinion
Enabling Hezbollah - Ralph Peters, New York Post opinion
Hezbollah's Guns Trump the Pen - Claude Salhani - Washington Times opinion
Bush Heads Back to Mideast Amid Fading Peace Hopes - Reuters
Rice Says Mideast Peace Improbable, Not Impossible - Associated Press
Latest Scandal Could Topple Olmert - Richard Boudreaux, Los Angeles Times
Olmert Claims Progress with Abbas - BBC News
Israel to Expand West Bank Settlements - Associated Press
Peace Failure to Clouds Israel's Birthday - Joshua Mitnick, Washington Times
Hamas Rejects Israeli Truce Terms - BBC News
Jimmy Carter and Hamas - Los Angeles Times online debate
Worker Struggle Points Up Egypt's Problems - Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times
Real Nowhere Land - Amin Abbas, The Australian opinion
SOUTH ASIA
Bomb Blasts Kill 60 in India - Wax and Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post
Series of Blasts Leave 56 Dead in India - Somini Sengupta, New York Times
Six Bombs in 15 Minutes Leave at Least 80 Dead - Rhys Blakely, London Times
Bombings Rock Indian Tourist City - BBC News
Curfew Imposed after India Blasts - BBC News
Pakistan's Government in Turmoil - BBC News
WORLD
UN Struggles Over How to Help Nations that Reject Aid - Maggie Farley, LA Times
RECOMMENDED READING
COIN Book Club # 9 - Kip, Abu Muqawama
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report
UK CT & COIN Features - Will Hartley, Insurgency Research Group
EVENTS OF INTEREST
15 May 2008 - Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute. In Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power (AEI Press, May 2008), AEI scholars Thomas Donnelly and Frederick W. Kagan pose a series of urgent questions for policymakers: What is the strategic role of American ground forces? What missions will these forces undertake in the future? What is the nature of land warfare in the twenty-first century? What qualities are necessary to succeed on the battlefields of the Long War? What is the ideal size and configuration of the force--and how much will it cost? On Thursday, May 15, Donnelly, Kagan, and Kathleen Hicks of the Center for Strategic and International Studies will discuss these and other questions about the size, shape, and costs of the land forces the United States will require in the years ahead.
4-5 June 208 - 2008 Joint Symposium - Strategic Re-Assessment: From Long-Range Planning to Future Strategy and Forces (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Institute for National Strategic Studies, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and US Joint Forces Command. Fundamental to the development and implementation of a successful future defense posture is a foundation comprised of a well-reasoned assessment of the future security environment, a clear understanding of the “realm of the possible” for and limitations of military forces, and an understanding of the nation’s security objectives. Developing an appropriate assessment of the future security environment is not something done in a vacuum as it is impossible to fully separate purely military or national security issues from other elements of the national and global environment. This is particularly true for the United States. Technical innovation and adaptation, the rise and decline of other actors on the international stage, domestic politics, globalization and its effects on trade, migration, communications, and the power of nonstate actors all, bear heavily on any security assessment. There is no shortage of assessments of the future security environment. In the last decade, National Defense University itself has produced several, most recently, Strategic Challenges – America’s Global Security Agenda. The objectives of this symposium are to examine some of these strategic assessments, to review our success at incorporating their key elements into strategic and operational plans, and to propose ways to institutionalize best practices into the process for future force development and joint force planning. We will explore these issues through a series of panel discussions and keynote addresses. Featured speakers will include military officers, government officials, and experts from research institutes.
17-19 June 208 - 3rd Annual North American Security Colloquium: Wars Without Borders (Public Event). Kingston, Ontario. Sponsored by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, Queen's Centre for International Relations, and Defence Management Studies at Queen's University, and the Canadian 'Forces' Land Doctrine and Training System. The conflicts today in Iraq and in Afghanistan are examples of what some leading scholars and many commanders have termed “continuous wars among the people.” This type of conflict is developing or occurring in other regions of the world, in Africa and in Latin America for example. In many of these situations traditional and legal borders no longer define or contain the conflict, nor do obvious sovereign entities control belligerents. International commitments to control these conflicts necessarily demand complex, multi-dimensional diplomatic, military, police, and humanitarian responses. What has been learned about such conflicts from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan may to some degree be transferable to conflicts in other regions. Assuming that the international community may well face future operations characterized by regional, borderless “wars among the people”, the centres at Queen’s University and their partners propose convening a distinguished group of approximately 200 experts from academic, military, governmental, and international institutions to examine how best to prepare commanders, military units and governments to plan for and conduct complex, multi-dimensional stability campaigns in this new environment.
16-18 September 2008 - The U.S. Army and the Interagency Process: A Historical Perspective (Public Event - Conference / Call for Papers). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute. The symposium will include a variety of guest speakers, panel sessions, and general discussions. This symposium will explore the partnership between the U.S. Army and government agencies in attaining national goals and objectives in peace and war within a historical context. Separate international topics may be presented. The symposium will also examine current issues, dilemmas, problems, trends, and practices associated with U.S. Army operations requiring close interagency cooperation.
